Family Mediation Services
Offering in-person and online in NY and surrounding areas
“Mediation is a cost-effective and human alternative to litigation that moves at your own pace. Support yourself and your children.”
As a parent, I understand how important our children are to us and that conversations surrounding money and parenting can feel intimidating.
Through parenting mediation (i.e., also called child custody & visitation) and support mediation (i.e., child support & spousal maintenance) services, we help parents facing challenging issues take control of their own and their children’s futures together. As a result, they move forward with mutual agreements that support future communication and not division. In addition, the mediation process is a cost-effective and human alternative to litigation that moves at your own pace.
Amid the stress of deciding which route to take (litigation, mediation, or something else entirely), it’s easy to forget that eventually, you will reach the other side, the professionals you hire will be done, and co-parenting your children will resume/begin. You’ll At that moment, mediation's trust and common ground become more valuable than gold.
Please get in touch with me if you have any questions about mediation; I look forward to working with you.
-Andrew Haas, Founder & Principle Mediator
“If you’re looking for client-centered family mediation, you’ve come to the right place.”
Spend less & save time.
The numbers don’t lie. Family mediation saves people valuable resources and time.
Parenting plans and support mediation costs 5x less on average than litigation.
The total price for both people to engage in a mediation process will cost less than one lawyer’s retainer.
Your agreement is more likely to stand on its own because you made them together on behalf of yourselves and your children.
80% voluntary child support compliance with mediation v. 40% child support compliance with litigation.
Parenting mediations and support mediations take an average of 3 sessions. Litigation takes an average of 3 months before the first court hearing.
Move at your chosen pace in mediation.
FAQs
Is mediation right for me?
This question is often best answered during a consultation. Every person’s situation is unique. Some family members are worried that direct communication will exacerbate issues. Other people agree on most topics and want to get something drafted.
Client-centered means that we adapt the process to meet your specific needs.
Whatever your situation, we can help you work out every aspect of your parenting plan (child custody and visitation) and child & spousal support (maintenance) from beginning to end. Whether you expect serious conflict or a calm conversation, we help our clients find their rhythm and walk through the process in a way that works for them.
Can you explain the mediation process?
We begin with a 1-hour consultation session with each party separately. This time allows clients to broach issues they prefer to discuss privately and explore if mediation is right for them. If both people are on board, we will send over some resources to help ease the mental load in the future and coordinate the first mediation session. Then, as mediators, we help clients identify how they want to move through the decision points (i.e., children’s expenses, parenting time, etc.) and support their communication (whatever their style) around the topics as they plan for the future. Finally, we record their decisions along the way and can draft them up at the end of their mediation. This memorandum of understanding (MOU) serves as their parenting plan or support agreement template. Their mediation MOU then forms the basis for the final stipulation submitted to the family court.
Your mediators remain available should you have any further questions or issues to discuss. We’re also available to support your future discussions when you reach court-ordered milestones for re-examining your agreement.
What if one parent doesn’t want to provide support?
Many of our clients disagree on support issues when they enter mediation. We’re not going to tell you or them what to do. Often, issues regarding family law are not always apparent, and we lose our neutrality by weighing in.
Instead, we can provide something that clients find even more valuable: space to discuss your options and a supported conversation that promotes understanding and mutual direction. Many parents need a supportive and neutral space to process their next steps and find that mediation fosters the clarity they desire.
Do I need an attorney?
There’s a good chance you’re interested in parenting plan (i.e., child custody & visitation) and support (i.e., spousal & child) mediation because you want a more cost-effective and human alternative to family litigation processes. In short, mediation gives you options.
Our role is to ensure that whatever you choose, you remain at the center of the process.
The truth is that family law and a judge's decision aren’t always clear. Hence, legal battles. Some people are comfortable moving forward without a lawyer and mutually rely on their sense of what works for their situation. Some clients hire consulting attorneys for one-off questions, and others employ family attorneys full-time to have someone who is solely their advocate.
Ultimately, the choice is yours, and if you want help determining what you want, we can process this with you further during the consultation.
You can find a great post on this here.
Where do the mediation sessions take place?
We offer parenting plan (i.e., child custody & visitation) and support (i.e., spousal & child) mediation in-person and online in NYC and surrounding areas. Most clients opt to mediate on Zoom for the convenience of meeting online. However, others prefer to mediate in person, which we are happy to accommodate.
How many sessions can I expect?
Parenting plan (i.e. child custody & visitation) and support (i.e. spousal & child) mediation can take as little as two sessions and as many as five with sessions ranging from 1-2 hours. We can give you a general idea of how many sessions you might want during the consultation.
What do we do with the MOU?
As a result of talking through issues directly in a safe and supportive space, most clients decide on every aspect of the parenting plan and support agreement. We then draft these agreements into a non-binding but formal document that provides the basis for you, a paralegal, or an attorney to prepare (and file, if you desire) a child custody and visitation stipulation, child support stipulation, or spousal maintenance stipulation. Each option takes varying lengths of time and money to complete and prepares you for your final family court date.
Towards the end of the mediation, we can facilitate a conversation concerning the following steps so that you both move forward together.
Will you provide legal advice?
As neutrals, it is outside of our role to provide legal advice. However, this lets us focus on something often more valuable to parents - the chance to discuss what the two of you think would work best for you (and your children). If family law is a part of that conversation for you, we support a space where you can communicate your thoughts.
What are the benefits of pursuing mediation?
Every person finds that mediation meets their needs in unique ways. However, we see the following opportunities time and time again:
You talk through and shape your agreement with one another and, in so doing, always know where the other person is at (as different from a game of telephone).
Your vision of what is best for you and your child(ren) sets the stage for the conversation.
We support a space in which discussing disruptive differences is possible and constructive.
You only pay for the time you need and move at your own pace (fast or slow).
Even if you don’t agree on everything, it’s still more cost and time-effective than litigation. You can take your agreements with you.
You can co-create communication patterns that serve you well after completing the process.
You establish a process that you both trust and can return to in future years.
Family members on both sides experience a more peaceful process of building good faith all around.
Your children experience a future that was decided by their parents mutually and not forced.
Are there reasons why I should avoid family mediation?
As I’ll say throughout, you’ll ultimately know this answer best; however, we’ll help you determine if mediation is for you during your consultation. In addition, in cases where there’s been domestic violence or a lack of financial transparency, we support clients in evaluating their options and getting crystal clear about how they want to proceed.
How does mediation affect the longevity of our agreement?
Every part of an agreement is co-created in mediation. As a result, both parents have an equal stake in the final decisions. From our experience, parents hold to commitments they make for themselves, having built good faith in mediation. If ever a change is desired, they can return to mediation to discuss what’s in their best interests.
This is very different from family litigation processes in which one person feels forced into saying “yes” or neither relents leading to expensive family court battles.
During our initial consultation, we take time to discuss areas where you’re concerned about finding agreement and discuss constructive ways that we can support you as your mediators.
Interested in learning more?
Schedule An Intro Call
Intro calls offer a free first step toward determining your next steps and take 10-15 min. Whether or not mediation is right for you, this is an opportunity to learn more.
During your intro call, you can:
Share about your interest
Ask questions
Learn more about the pricing and mediation process
Talk about the next steps
Use the form below to book your free 15 min. intro call. If you'd like to get in touch to discuss any general services-related questions, please email us at info@haasmediation.com.